Many authors keep a notebook in which they record impressions, memories and ideas. This terrific book tells kids how to create a journal and introduces them to the wonders of writing down their thoughts and ambitions. The book suggests to kids the kinds of things to record and how to fashion them into pieces of writing.

Discusses the various kinds of things to keep in a writer's notebook--seed ideas, mind pictures, lists, memories, samples of other writers' work--and why.

Live WritingBy Ralph FletcherHarper Trophy

This book is based on the simple idea that every writer has a tool box. Instead of awls and hammers, a writer's toolbox contains words, imagination, a love of books, a sense of story, and ideas for how to make the writing live and breathe. I wrote this book to give you some practical strategies to throw into your toolbox. I hope you'll try them, because these are ideas that can make you a better writer.

This book is titled Live Writing, and you may be wondering what I mean by that. Most of us have read (and written!) the opposite kind of writing-dull, drab language that sounds about as interesting as a city phone book. By live writing I mean the kind of writing that has a current running through it-energy, electricity, juice. When we read live writing, the words seem to lift off the page and burrow deep inside us.

The Secret of Writing.
Its misleading to think of writers as special creatures, word sorcerers who possess some sort of magic knowledge hidden from everyone else. Writers are ordinary people who like to write. They feel the urge to write, and scratch that itch every chance they have. Writers get their ideas down on paper using particular strategies that seem to work for them. These strategies are available to anyone who wants to be a writer... Revealed!
There is no secret. But there is a process. If you like to write, there are definite steps you can take to help you reach your goals. Good writing isn't forged by magic or hatched out of thin air. Good writing happens when human beings follow particular steps to take control o their sentences-to make their words do what they want them to do.

This book will show you how writers work, how you can become a writer, and how you can find a process that works for you.

Maybe you've heard before that poetry is magic, and it made you roll your eyes, but I believe it's true. Poetry matters. At the most important moments, when everyone else is silent, poetry rises to speak.

I wrote this book to help you write poems and to give practical ideas for making your poems sound the way you want them to sound. We're not going to smash poems up into the tiniest pieces. This book is about writing poetry, not analyzing it. I want this book to help you have more wonderful. moments in the poetry you write. I want you to feel the power of poetry. it's my hope that through this book you will discover lots of ways to make your poems shine, sing, soar...

*You have to be a famous celebrity.
*You must have an amazing life.
*You can't write your life story until you're old and gray.
*Nobody will read it, so what's the point?

Like my other books for young writers, this one will give tons of practical advice on how you can write your autobiography, memoir, or personal narrative. I include interviews with other well-known authors (Jerry Spinelli, Jack Gantos, Kathi Appelt) who have written this kind of writing.

It's an odd thing with autobiographical writing. You may be the world's best expert on your life, but through this process you'll learn a great deal bout yourself. When you write your life story, you're always an explorer, forever arriving on the shore of yourself. Bon voyage!

In this book Ralph Fletcher reveals the inside workings and crafting processes that allowed him to write well-known books like Fig Pudding, Flying Solo, and Twilight Comes Twice. The Table of Contents: 1) My Missing Manuscript 2) Deep Roots 3) Early Writing 4) My Writer's Notebook 5) Drafting 6) Revising 7) Fig Pudding 8) Conversation with Ralph Fletcher 8) The Best Award. Get to know Ralph up close and personal. Includes lots of photographs of the author and artifacts from his notebook. This is an essential resource for kids or teachers conducting an author study.